Draft:International Arena League
Arena football league
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The International Arena League (IAL) is an American and European arena football league. The IAL is one of the first leagues to have teams in multiple countries since the Monterrey Kings in the AF1[1] and the first league to have teams in Europe and North America.[2]
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Submission declined on 4 August 2026 by Avgeekamfot (talk).
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This draft has been resubmitted and is currently awaiting re-review. |  |
Submission declined on 15 April 2026 by ChrysGalley (talk). This draft is not adequately supported by reliable sources. Wikipedia's verifiability policy requires that all content be supported by reliable sources.
Declined by ChrysGalley 3 months ago.
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Comment: We can't source via this amount of social media, it ends up being sourced per WP:ABOUTSELF. ChrysGalley (talk) 13:28, 15 April 2026 (UTC)
Current season, competition or edition: 2026 International Arena League Season | |
| Sport | Arena football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2025 |
| COO | Tom Mitchell |
| Director | Pedro Montoya (ticket operations) |
| Commissioner | Bob Rossi (deputy commisoner) |
| Divisions | 2 (North American and European) |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Headquarters | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Sponsors | SportHitters, FVC Bank, Sky Zone, Outback Steakhouse, Orleans Arena, Nevada Trust, Lazy Dog, Dave & Busters, Buca Di Beppo |
| Website | https://www.ialfootball.com |
| Locations | |
| [[File: |250px|Location of teams in International Arena League]] | |
History
On September 4 2025, it was announced the IAL was formed and the first commissioner was announced as Dan Lust.[3] Later, it was revealed eight teams would play, four in the North American Division, and four in the European Division. In October, the Cincinnati Slingers and the Las Vegas Rockers were announced as the very first teams to join the North American Division of the IAL.[4][5]. Then in October, the league announced that the Glasgow Tartans would be the first European team to join the IAL.[6] The rest of the teams were announced on November 25.[7]
Inaugural season
On January 22, 2026, the IAL released the schedule and revealed that the league would run 15 weeks, starting on April and ending on July 25.[8] On March 21, a league-wide tryout and draft was held at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas to finalize roster players.[9] The very first game played on April 18[10]. The Zurich Ibexx folded before even playing a single game.[11][12] And during Weeks 1-2, the England Eruptors and Stuttgart Stallions folded. The league, then announced to move the European games to the American arenas due to the lack of execution. Then, during the midseason, the remaining European teams, the Glasgow Tartans and Dusseldorf Warriors folded. And all of the folded European teams merged into one and became the European Stars, playing travel games playing with the Glasgow uniforms, and their rosters comprising of former players from European teams, along with the partnership of the coaches from Stuttgart and Glasgow.[13]
All of the American teams and Europe survived to play in the playoffs, in what would become a play-in round to determine seeding for the teams, and the tournament round featuring the first two top seeded teams playing against the two lowest seeded teams, and so fourth for the other two games. And, a semifinals, and the championship. All of the playoff games were held in Las Vegas.[14][15]
| Teams | Location | Arena | Capacity | Founded | Joined | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Juggernauts[16] | Tempe, Arizona | Mullett Arena[17] | 5,000 | 2025 | 2026 | Jay Allen |
| Cincinnati Slingers[18] | Cincinnati, Ohio | Heritage Bank Center | 17,000 | 2025 | 2026 | Shon King |
| European Stars | Traveling team | 2025 (as all European teams)
2026 (as Stars) |
2026 | Keith Hilson and Philip Garcia[19] | ||
| Las Vegas Rockers[20] | Las Vegas, Nevada | Orleans Arena | 9,500 | 2025 | 2026 | Mook Zimmerman |
| Pennsylvania Benjamins[21] | Reading, Pennsylvania | Santander Arena | 7,160 | 2025 | 2026 | Lee Johnson |
| Utah Great 8's[22] | West Valley City, Utah | Maverik Center | 12,600 | 2025 | 2026 | Siaha Burley |
Former teams
| Team | Location | Played | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dusseldorf Warriors | Dusseldorf, Germany | 2025 | Folded like the other teams due to instability, and the league's unsuccessful attempt to keep the European teams in play. |
| England Eruptors | Nottingham, England | 2025 | England folded due to instability problems.[23] |
| Glasgow Tartans | Renfrew, Scotland | 2025 | Replaced by the European Stars, and folded after two games. Notably borrowed jerseys from a game, had players play in Las Vegas' team, and had turf problems in their arena.[24][25] |
| Stuttgart Stallions | Stuttgart, Germany | 2025 | Stuttgart folded due to instability problems. |
| Zurich Ibexx | Zurich, Switzerland | 2025 | Zurich played no games and folded due to scheduling conflicts and league instability[26][27] |
Staff
- Commissioner: Dan Lust
- Deputy Commissioner: Bob Rossi
- Director of Ticketing Operations: Pedro Montoya[28]
Reception
Critics in Glasgow raised concerns that the league was building its European fan base from scratch, since arena football is less popular in Europe than it is in America. They questioned the short turnaround between tryouts and the start of the season, and the high ticket cost compared to other sports.[29][30] It was also reported that the IAL, despite marketing as the next top arena football league faced instability quickly, with Dusseldorf and Glasgow having arena problems, and Zurich folding.[31] Glasgow's arena had its turf bunch up in the middle of a game, creating a tripping hazard.[32]
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